Last month, five Rhode Island environmental nonprofits jointly sued the federal government over grant freezes threatening a range of statewide environmental and economic development initiatives.
According to a March 17 amended complaint, some at-risk projects include plans for an urban forest, programs preventing childhood lead exposure and renovations of low-income housing, among others.
The funds were previously allocated under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — federal funding legislation passed during the Biden administration. But on the first day of his presidency, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” which halted agency distributions of IRA and IIJA funds.
The plaintiffs include local nonprofits Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, Childhood Lead Action Project, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation and the Green Infrastructure Center. The National Council of Nonprofits — the nation’s largest nonprofit network — was also listed as a plaintiff.
The lawsuit was first filed in state district court on March 13. According to the suit, the plaintiffs requested that the court temporarily unfreeze grant money for the nonprofits on the basis that there exists “no statutory provision” that authorizes the Trump administration “to freeze funding appropriated by the IRA and IIJA.”
The Department of Justice filed their response on March 27. DOJ argued that the case should be dismissed as executive orders cannot be challenged. The Office of Management and Budget memo that paused funding has also since been withdrawn, the response added.
They also alleged that the federal agencies have jurisdiction over the funds and are allowed to re-evaluate funding allocations during a temporary pause. The motion added that if the judicial branch were to interfere, it would be a violation of the separation of powers.
The DOJ filing said that the plaintiffs have “failed to allege facts which show that any injuries are traceable to the challenged actions.”
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council was granted $1 million in 2025 under the IRA to create an urban forest habitat, which could serve as a pilot program for other similar projects. But according to WRWC Executive Director Alicia Lehrer, the nonprofit cannot start the project “until those funds are fully unfrozen.”
Laura Brion ’04, the executive director of Childhood Lead Action Project, noted that her organization did not receive clear communication about losing access to their grant — which amounted to $500,000, according to the suit. Like everyone else, they found out about the funding freeze through the news.
“We logged in (to the grant portal), and the grant just wasn’t there,” Brion said in an interview with The Herald.
CLAP had intended to use the grant money to expand lead poisoning prevention education in Rhode Island. Some of the classes they offer are legally required for workers doing repair work on old homes. CLAP is one of the only organizations in the area to offer the training in Spanish, Brion said. As of 2023, 42.1% of Spanish speakers speak English less than “very well.”
“Unless you know how to use lead safe work practices, you could accidentally poison yourself (or) bring home lead dust to your own children,” Brion said.
Recent changes in federal funding have caused worry for Brion and her colleagues. It has been “very challenging to be constantly making new contingency plans based on things that can change every single day,” Brion added.
Alternative sources of funding can be hard to come by. Grants are often specific to the project, and many leaders are “turning over every rock to look for new funding sources at the same time,” Brion said.
“We are very concerned about the impact of these funding cuts on programs and services that our community depends on,” Nancy Wolanski, the director of the Alliance for Nonprofit Impact at United Way of Rhode Island, wrote in an email to The Herald.
United Way R.I. — the state branch of NCN — is launching United is The Way, a $500,000 effort to help “provide and raise additional resources for nonprofits affected by the federal funding uncertainty,” Wolanski wrote.
The Rhode Island Foundation is also offering $3 million in grants “to help Rhode Island nonprofits affected by the loss of federal funding due to recent actions in Washington,” Chris Barnett, a spokesperson for the foundation, wrote in an email to The Herald.
The Department of the Interior, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. Democracy Forward, who is representing the plaintiffs, also declined to comment.
The DOJ, White House, OMB, the Department of Agriculture and National Economic Council did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment.
A hearing for the case is scheduled for April 3.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council was awarded $500,000 in 2022. The grant was awarded in 2025. The Herald regrets the error.
